Tuesday, March 13, 2012

it's borderline surreal to not only have gotten so many responses to the last post, but also to have so many people say that they'd like to have a painting that i've done. thank you everyone! i appreciate your kind words and support...

sandy mastroni, i drew your name from the hat! i think that most of you probably know sandy and her awesome art, but in case you don't, pop over to her place and check it out... she's a mighty sweet - and talented - woman.

i'm finished with the 4" x 6" stillman and birn 'gamma' journal that i started in early january, but before i move on i thought i'd share my thoughts about it with you. as i said in the last post, i *loved this book*! not only is the paper gorgeous and able to withstand way more water than i initially thought,

it laid flat when open until the very end. there are a lot of pogo prints in it, but the book handled the increased bulk beautifully. i only took the centerfold out of one signature; i loved the paper so much i couldn't bring myself to take out any more, and i really didn't need to.

initially i did a lot of faces like these where i used watercolors but was very sparing with the water.

i was a little heavier with the water here,

and by the time i got to these pages, i could see that i could paint in a 'normal' way with watercolors. the pages did buckle a tiny bit, but not much. most of the buckling went away when the paper dried. 'evangeline' (on the left) is on the only page that i put matte gel medium on first. there's a whole bunch of paint (gouache, casein, and watercolors) on her, so it was probably a good idea, but it wasn't absolutely necessary.

the flower on the right page is another example of the paper holding up to a lot of paint and water... if you click on these you can get a pretty good idea of how flat the paper stays with varying amounts of water.

another example of a watercolor page... i used colored pencils and gouache as 'accents' once i realized that i could paint freely with watercolors...

i'm showing you these pages because of the pogo print of the bowl. i cut the bowl out and then peeled the back off. i really like to do this. : )

one of the last faces in the book, and it brings me back to lips... i thought i'd try drawing the lips first to see how that went - no outline, nose, eyes, anything, just lips to start with. lol! it was complicated! it showed me how much the lips determine about a face. i never figured out her neck completely, hence the hair hanging down on one side. ; )

i highly recommend the stillman and birn 'gamma' sketchbook... now i'm working in a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" 'gamma'.

28 comments:

Congratulations to Sandy, who I am so glad won because now I have visited her blog for the first time and am going to be going back of course! I so enjoyed looking through this book, Lynne. Thanks for sharing, as always, with love, sus

First of all, congrats to Sandy, oh boy I do love her work. Fantastic to see all the stuff you have been doing Lynne. I particularly like the last face, lovely lips and beautiful eyes. Your cat looks just like my cat Tansy. Cheerio Lynne, thankyou for sharing your joyous beautiful work with us. Marg, oxox

dear sweet...i want to come with a big pot of tea and borrow the notebook and take one of your walks and find a log to sit on so that i might read and look and learn. you are my queen for inspiration. i love each page and would love to run my fingers over the surfaces with eyes closed and image being you brush and pencil and pogo in hand creating. i can't stop looking. i saw this last night by the light of my iPhone and want to jump for joy for seeing all this work. you are my "heart tender" xox ani

Big Congrats Sandy. You are one lucky girl. Doin a happy dance for you.

Journal love.

There is an indie art store here called Wet Paint and lo and behold they have the journals by S & B and I have to say the next time I need to pick up a journal I will be getting one of these. Just the feel of them in my hands was a pleasure and any journal that will hold up to multiple media is a big plus for any journal I consider. Thanks for sharing them here. Your journal is fantastic Lynne.

OMGoodness the contents of this journal are so beautiful. THank you so much for sharing. The Tree Tender is also so lovely. I am glad you had a good break from the blogging world, but from my perspective it is wonderful to have you back!

Lynne thanks for the info on the journal ....Daisy . Lena , Ivy , Evangeline and lovely lips, she turned out great Lynne , im still not worried u will go all realistic , i think your lovlies will keep control lol

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to answer questions about technique or materials... please feel free to ask here or email me. i work primarily in books using watercolors, gouache, pastels (soft and oil), graphite and colored pencils. i also love to work on muslin and plaster cloth, and when i'm out walking i draw on sticks, stones, and rusty stuff...